Animal trap



y 15, 1952 G. c. ANDERSON 2,603,029

ANIMAL TRAP Filed Aug. 15, 1948 Patented July 15, 1952 OFFICE ANIMAL TRAP t j .Guy C.Anderson, St. Paul, Minn. Application August 13, 1948, Serial N 44,189 Y 9 Claims. (01. 43- 85) Myinvention relates an improvement in animal traps and deals particularly-with a trigger actuated trap for killing moles-and other animals. a

The object of the present invention lies in the provision of a trap which is of simple construc tion and which may lee-manufactured at alow cost. The device may be mainly constructed of sheet metal or other similar material whieh'maybe punched and formed at a low cost. At'the same time, my trap is extremelysensitive and is most effective in operation. a I

- A feature of the present invention lies in the provision of a trap having a pair. of relatively slidable plates arranged in face to face relation. Openings are provided through the plates through which the animal may pass- A spring urges the plates in a manner to move the openings out of registry, thus killing the animal as the plates slide apart.

A feature of the present invention lies in the pro-vision of an extremely sensitive trigger arrangement. The trigger comprises a loop .which ismounted on one plate andi-s engaged about an inclined catch on the other plate. A lever isprovided to hold the loop thus engaged. As soon as the lever is pivoted out of loop engaging posi-. tion the spring urging the plates apartwill .dis-

engage the loop from the inclined catchandends thereof. These arms terminate in off-set bent ends which extend through bearings in the plates. In view of the fact that these bearings are vertically aligned on the two plates, the.

spring may be swung into a positionsubstantially parallel with the plates or into a position at virtually right angles to the. plates. :This is important as it is not always possible tohave the spring project from the trap in the same direction. H

These and other objects and, novel features of my invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings cation:

forming apart of my specifi-.

Figure l is a perspective view of my trap in readiness for operation.

Figure 2 is an elevation view of the trap with the platessprung apart so that the openings therein are moved out of registry.

FigureB-is a view similar to Figure 2 the opposite side'of the trap. I

Figure 4 is a sectional view through the jt'rap on the line 4-4 of Figure l. v Figure 5 is a side elevation view of a portion of the ,trapjslio'wing the trigger loop and lever; arrangement.

The trap A may be used in any desired location and is ordinarily'placed in the path of movement of an animal either travelling through a passage beneath the surface of the ground, through a hole, or the like; The'trap includes a pair of relatively slidable plates indicated in general by the numeral-s l0 and l I. These plates are registerable with the openings l2 and I3, respectively, extending therethrough, the opening being of suflicient sizeto permitthe animal to easily pass therethrough. r The plate H preferably includes a bottom flange M which is folded upwardly against the outer surface of the plate II to reinforce-and strengthenthe plate laterallyy The plate H is likewise provided with a top flange I5 which is bent downwardly to overlie a portion of the top edge of the plate ll to'reinforcethe same. The flange l5 'is pro'vided with an outwardly bent central loop portion'lfi which may act as-a bearing for one end described. s

"As best illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings. the vertical side edges of the plate 'II are equipped with flanges I! and 1-9 which are bent forwardly and then parallel'to the :body of the plate H. The space between the body of the plate'll and the flanges I! and I9 is just*suf-' ficient to admit the plate 10 therebetween. Thus theflanges I1 and I9 form slight channels for the plate III in its vertical slidable movement.

The plate I0 is provided with a reinforcing flange 18 along its upper edge having a pocket. '20 therein which is bentfrom the body .of the flange near the center thereof and may serve" as abearing for an end of the spring. The pocket- 20 is vertically longitudinally aligned with the loop l6 so that the ends of the operating spring may be substantially aligned.

The operating'spring is indicated in general'by the numeral 2|. This spring is provided with a spring loop 22 which terminates in a pair of arms- 23 and 24 which are normally urged into diverg showing of the spring as will be later ing relation. The extremities 25 and 26 of these arms 23 and 24 extend into the pocket 20 and through the loop l6 respectively. The tension upon the spring arms 2| and 24 keeps the ends engaged in the loops at all times. Thus the plates Hi and II are normally urged toward the position illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings. A projecting loop of metal 21 on the upper portion of the plate extends into the aperture 12 of the plate l and limits the separation of the two plates. The'spring 2| is still under strain when the plates are in the extreme position illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 so that the spring remains engaged in the loops and 25.

The plate I0 is provided with an aperture-29 near its upper extremity and near one side edge thereof. A wire loop 30 is provided with rearwardly turned ends which extend through the aperture 23 and then extend laterally -to .form anchoring ends 3| as illustrated in Figure 3. The loop 30 ,is thus pivotally connected to .the plate l0 and normally depends from .the aperture.2.9.

A tapered project ng ll g 2 is struck from the body of the plate near its upper extremity and in alignment with ,the aperture 129 Of the plate I0. This lug 32 is provided with-an upwardly and outwardly taperedilower edge over which the loop 30 may engage. The loop 3.0 is engageable over the h1g3! to hold the plates l0 and II in the position ,illustratedin Figure 1 with the openings l2 and I3 thereof in registry. In order to hold the loop 30 in place upon thelu 3 2' I provide a lever .33 which is pivoted to the plate H at 34 near its upper end. The upper end of the lever 33 is off-set as indicatedat 35 so as to extend over the loop 30 when the loop is eneased on the lug 32. As long as the lever .35 isinthepos-ition shown in Figure l of the-drawings with the off-set end 35 a ainst the lug .32 the loop 30 is held upon this lug. Howevenas soon as the lever 33 is pivoted in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figure l, the spring 2| -will urge the plates HI and H apart, the loop 3fl;sliding over an inclined lower edge of the 1 53 A pair of oppositely directed ears 35 arestruck from the lever 33 to form a cleat. A similar pair of cars 31 are struck .fromthe plate on the op,- posite side oi the opening I3 from-the lever 33. A trigger string or wire 39 extend? between the cleats 36 and 31, thusextending across the regis-' tered openings at approximately .their center point. The space above and below the string 'or wire :39 is not sufficient for the animal to pass. When thetrap is placed in the path of movement of the animal and is set as indicated ,in Figure 1 of the drawings, it is inreadinessfor operation. -When an animal passes throughthe aligned opening l2 and i3, the trip cord 35' is deflected, swinging thelever .33 in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 1. As soon as theoif-set end :35 of the lever 33 has swung out of the path of the loop 30, the spring .2| actsto slide the plates '||l and H toward the position illu trated flame- 2 a 3 c the draw n s. th s e g the anima betwee h two l t As the spring possesses .eonsiderabl st e this movement tends tol iiltheganima imme iately when the trap'is sprung, thereby preventing painful injury to the animaland allowing the animal to escape after beingwounded.

In accordance with thepatent statutesplhave described the principles. of construction and operation of my animal trap and while I haveen- 4 deavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that obvious changes may be made within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim:

1. A trap including a pair of relatively slidable plates having openings therethrough which are in registry in the set position of the trap, a spring for urging .sa id plates toward a position with the openings out of registry, trigger means for holding said plates with the openings in registry, said trigger means including a loop on one of the plates. a lug on the other of said plates over which said loop engages, means for holding said loop engaged with said lug, and means for actuating said loop holding means to release the loop from said lug.

2. .Thestructure described in claim 1 where the loop holding means comprises a pivoted lever.

3. A trap including a pair of relatively slidable elements having elements therethrough which are in registry inthe set position of the tra said openings being movable into a position wherein the openings are out of registry, resilient means urging saidelements toward said position, trigger means holding said elements with said openings in registry, said trigger means including a loop connectedto one of said elements, a lug having an inclined edge on the other of said elements designed for engagement in said aperture. and means for holding the loop engaged with said inclined edge on said lug, and means for actuating said loop holding means to release the loop from said lug.

4. The structure described in claim 3 in which the loop holding means comprises a pivoted lever.

5. 1A trap including a pair of relatively slidable plates having openings therethrough which are in registry in the set position of the trap, resilient means urging .said plates to a position with the openings out of registry, trigger means for holding said plates with the openings in registry, said trigger means including a loop hingedly supported byone of said plates, alug having an inclined surface engageable with the end of said loop, said inclinedsurface tending to direct the closed end of the loop out of engagement with the lug, means for holding said loop upon said lug, and means for actuating said loop holding means to release theloop from said lug.-

.6. The structure described in claim 5 in which theloop holding means comprises a pivoted lever.

:7. An animal trap including, a pair of relatively slidable plates having openings therethrough which arein registry in the setposition of the trap, springmeans for urging said plates toward a position with the. openings out of registry, said spring means having a looped end, a pair of normally divergingarms and oppositely projecting ends onsaid arms, said plates having substantially axiallyaligned sockets, the ends of the arms beingpivotally engaged in said sockets.

.18. A trap including a pair of relatively slidable plates having openings therethrough which are in registry in the set position of the trap, resilient means urging said plates to aposition withthe openings'out 0f registry, trigger means for holding said plates with the openings in registry, said trigger means including a loop hingedly supported by one of said plates, a lug on the other plate having an inclined surface engag eable with the end of said loop, said inclined surface tending to direct the closed end of the loop out of engagement with the lug, a pivoted lever mounted for engaging one side of said lug to hold the loop on said lug, and flexible means connected adjacent one end of said lever and extending across said openings when said openings are in registry to thereby pivot said lever and release said loop when said flexible means is contacted by an animal.

9. A trap including a pair of relatively slidable plates having openings therethrough which are in registry in the set position of the trap, a spring for urging said plates toward a position with the openings out of registry, projecting means on one or said plates provided with an inclined surface, pivotal means carried by the other plate provided with an opening adjacent one end engageable with the inclined surface on said projecting means to maintain said plate openings in registry, and means engageable with said pivotal means for holding said pivotal means and its opening REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 655,995 Rittenhouse et al.- Aug. 14, 1900 1,294,293 Margo Feb. 11, 1919 1,359,724 Mosby Nov. 23, 1920 1,458,330 Gallagher June 12, 1923 2,460,417 Goostrey Feb. 1, 1949 

